Jannik Sinner has played down notions of a rivalry between himself and Carlos Alcaraz, saying that the World No. 2 is "a better player" and that the Spaniard's rivalry with Novak Djokovic is more significant right now.

The World No. 7 has clashed with Alcaraz on the court six times so far in his career, with their head-to-head currently level at 3-3. The Italian player won their most recent match at the Miami Open, coming back after losing the tiebreak in the first set to win 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2. However, Alcaraz won their meeting at the 2023 Indian Wells in straight sets 7-6 (4), 6-3.

The two players are now preparing to compete at the ATP 500 China Open, where the field is packed with talent. Alcaraz will be the tournament's top seed, while Sinner will be seeded sixth as eight top-10-ranked players take to the courts at the National Tennis Center in Beijing.

In his pre-tournament press conference, Sinner was asked about his rivalry with the two-time Grand Slam champion.

"No, look, at the moment it’s tough to talk about this rivalry because I feel he has won so many things at the moment. I think at the moment he’s still a better player, no? He has shown this. He was No 1 in the world already couple of times," he admitted.

"I think at the moment the biggest rivalry is him and Novak [Djokovic]. But in the other way, for sure every time when we play against, it’s a really good match. I think we both show the best out of ourself," he added.

However, the 22-year-old said that while he was focused on improving himself as a player at the moment, his rivalry with Alcaraz could become more of a focus in the future.

"At the moment I’m very focused about myself because I have to improve also physically because I feel like I have a lot of potential physically. That’s also the reason why I played much more less tournaments this year than last year, because I have to prepare the body to win the big tournaments.

"It’s going to be a question what will be answered in the future, no? I would be happy to be the rival of Carlos, for sure. I feel like that I have the potential to do it. But let’s see. It’s all about the future. We can’t say what’s happening," he continued.

Sinner will face World No. 33 Dan Evans in the opening round of the China Open.